Too much of sodium (salt) is in our food; where does it come?

It is well known that there are convincing evidences that sodium intake correlates with blood pressure. 1500 mg is the advised intake per day for persons who have high blood pressure. 1300 mg/day for persons 50 to 70 years old and 1200 mg/day for those above 70 years and old are recommended. For all the others a maximum of 2300 mg/day is the right amount. Many take in our world more sodium than they have to take. Many ask me we use very carefully salt and where the possibility to cut more is. The processed foods contain more sodium than we think. Almost many of the sweets have more salt than you think.

In many countries we do not know how much salt is there in the processed food and there are no data available. On the other hand you must know that all the processed food has salt in high amount. Are we addicted to salt or are the food companies responsible? Both are right. If we could reduce the amount of salt intake hundreds of thousands of deaths can be avoided every year in our world that occurs because of heart diseases and high blood pressure.

We see some of the examples from USA here and they include:

• White bread .....................................130 to 230 mg sodium per slice
• Spaghetti rings .................................850 to 1070 mg sodium per cup
• Spaghetti sauce .................................310 to 770 mg per half-cup
• Tomato soup .....................................380 to 1900 mg per cup
• Soy sauce .......................................920 to 1260 mg per tablespoon
• Cheese ..........................................270 to 390 mg per slice
• Cheese pizza ....................................1080 to 2340 mg per pizza
• Pepperoni pizza .................................1740 to 2700 mg per piece
• French fries ....................................220 to 640 mg, medium size
• Fried chicken dinners ...........................1010 mg to 2160 mg per pack
• Potato chips ....................................160 mg to 370 mg per ounce
• Breakfast sandwiches ............................730 mg to 1290 mg
• Chicken nuggets .................................450 to 1590 mg
• Caesar salad with grilled chicken ...............1320 to 1610 mg

All the sweets, cakes, biscuits and others have high amount of sugar. We see few examples here and they include:

• Corn flakes .....................................1170 mg per 100 g
• Fruit cake ......................................250 mg per 100 g
• Cake, plain .....................................380 mg per 100 g
• Fruit pie .......................................210 mg per 100 g
• Jam tart ........................................230 mg per 100 g
• Muesli ..........................................270 mg per 100 g
• Margarine .......................................840 mg per 100 g
• Bacon, rashers, fried ...........................1870 mg per 100 g
• Ham canned ......................................1250 mg per 100 g
• Luncheon meant, canned ..........................1050 mg per 100 g
• Salami, slices ..................................1850 mg per 100 g
• Cheese, camembert ...............................1410 mg per 100 g
• Danish blue .....................................1420 mg per 100 g
• Parmesan .........................................760 mg per 100 g

Processed foods throughout the world contain too much sodium.

Think of the salted fish or salted dry meat or the different pickles used in Asia or the spices. These have also excess salt and thus sodium.

We need sodium and without sodium we cannot live. But, the dose makes the poison. Cook your food freshly or take lot of fruits and vegetables. Raw food is also very good; this is a best reason to eat salad every day.

Teach your children from the beginning that too much of sodium is bad for health. Once they come in contact with the taste of sodium, they can become addict to salt.

I don’t take breakfast. Is it so important?

Yes, breakfast is very important. In my last visit to India I met my nephew in my native place. He was looking very sick. His blood pressure was very high. His doctor gave him medicines. He was not eating properly. All were worried.

I asked my sister to bring the food available in the house and asked him to eat. Before that I have measured his blood pressure and it was high. He ate the food served. I measured his blood pressure after 5, 10 and 15 minutes and there was no big change. As I measured his blood pressure after 20 minutes we have seen a sudden drop in his blood pressure and this time it was normal.

I asked him to go home and do this same procedure next morning. He measured his blood pressure; it was high, had his breakfast and measured once again. His blood was normal. From that day onwards he is taking his food in regular time and is happy without taking medicines.

The time interval between dinner and the breakfast should not be very long. This is also one of the reasons why many heart attacks are happening in the early morning.

Have a good breakfast in the mornings and the days start successfully.

We hear very often high blood pressure and low blood pressure. Could you explain me blood pressure?

Blood is carried from the heart to all parts of your body in blood vessels called arteries. Blood pressure is the pressure of blood on arterial walls. It is produced by heart contractions and depends the elasticity of the arterial walls and the volume of blood. It is measured in millimeters of mercury.

There are two types of blood pressure: systolic and diastolic. The systolic pressure (as the heart beats) corresponds to the pressure of the blood when the heart has imparted the maximum pressure. The diastolic pressure (as the heart relaxes between beats) is the pressure when the heart is in the resting phase.

The blood pressure measurement is written one above or before the other, with the systolic number on top and diastolic number on the bottom. For example, 120/80 mmHg (millimeters of mercury). It is verbally told "120 over 80". The normal blood pressure is less than 120 mmHg systolic and less than 80 mmHg diastolic.

A single high blood pressure reading does not necessarily mean that you have high blood pressure. However, if readings stay systolic 140 or above or diastolic 90 or above over time you need treatment. If systolic is only high or only diastolic is high you have the problem of high blood pressure. Examples are 170/78 mmHg or 120/100 mmHg.

You have low blood pressure if you have the reading 90/60 mmHg or lower. Examples are 95/55 mmHg or 80/65 mmHg.
Young and healthy persons can control their blood pressure every two years. Persons above 30 years must go to the doctor once in a year to check.

Normal weight, healthy lifestyle, enough physical activities and the right food can help to keep the blood pressure normal. Try to avoid always personal or office stress.

What are the risk factors to get Type-2 Diabetes and what are its symptoms?

Millions of people are suffering from type-2 diabetes in our world and one can do a lot to prevent or postpone this disease.

The main risk factors include:

• Having a first-degree relatives – parents, brother, sister or child – with type-2 diabetes
• Having overweight or obesity
• High blood pressure
• HDL-cholesterol is less than 35 mg/dl or triglyceride level greater than 250 mg/dl
• Having a waist measuring more than 80 cm in women and 94 cm in men
• Having high blood sugar levels than normal without having diabetes
• Having diabetes or blood sugar levels above normal without having diabetes during pregnancy

Normally the problem of type-2 diabetes starts when the people are above 40 years old. But in recent times even young people get this disease. South Asians and African-Caribbean people have five times more risk to get type-2 diabetes.

The symptoms of type-2 diabetes often come on gradually and can be quite vague in the beginning. Many people have type-2 diabetes for a long period without knowing.

The common symptoms include:

• Being thirsty always
• Passing excess urine
• Tiredness
• Weight loss

If you have the symptoms go to your doctor and he could do the right diagnosis and treatment.

What role does calcium und potassium play in blood pressure?

Calcium is important to have normal blood pressure and it also functions as a natural diuretic to mild the effects of much sodium intake.

Calcium supplement gives contradictory results, 80% benefit from the supplementation and in 20% the blood pressure goes marginally up. Dairy products containing low fat and vegetables are also good sources of calcium. Talk to the dietician to know the right food to you.

Potassium can also reduce blood pressure and it is proved that low potassium diet increases blood pressure. The mechanism behind is that too little potassium in the blood lead to sodium retention and high blood pressure.

Fruits, vegetables and fish are rich in potassium.

What vegetables and fruits maintain or reduce the blood pressure?

Fibres and antioxidants of vegetables and fruits are capable of reducing the blood pressure. Comparatively the fibres and antioxidants of fruits are more effective than those of vegetables.

Celery is known to reduce the blood pressure, but it has also sodium which can increase the pressure. Take one to two stalks and this is enough.

Garlic is also important to reduce the blood pressure and the mechanism is dilation of the arteries. Onion and garlic have adenosine which is a smooth muscle relaxant. Raw or cooked, both are effective to control the blood pressure.

All leafy vegetables are good to reduce the blood pressure. All fruits are also good. 5 to 6 servings of fruits and vegetables are good in a day.

You must have a good lifestyle. Avoid alcohol and tobacco. Keep your weight normal. Have enough physical activity.

Above all, you must avoid all forms of stress. You must know how to manage your stress well. Avoiding mental stress reduces the blood pressure and keeps it normal.

What role does calcium und potassium play in blood pressure?

Calcium and potassium are very important for the health.

Calcium is important to have normal blood pressure and it also functions as a natural diuretic to mild the effects of much sodium intake. Calcium supplement gives contradictory results, 80% benefit from the supplementation and 20% the blood pressure goes marginally up.

Dairy products containing low fat and vegetables are also good sources of calcium. Talk to the dietician to know exactly about your food.

Potassium can also reduce blood pressure and it is proved that low potassium diet increases blood pressure. The mechanism behind is that too little potassium in the blood lead to sodium retention and high blood pressure.

Fruits, vegetables and fish are rich in potassium.

Fenugreek (Venthayam, Methi)

Fenugreek belongs to the family of legumes. The yellow to amber coloured fenugreek seeds are extensively used in India for food and medicinal purposes.

The leaves of the plants are also used as spice. These seeds are mixed in various food preparations. It is useful in many ways to us and they include:

• Fenugreek is used as a milk producing food for breastfeeding mothers and it increases the milk quantity.
• It reduces cholesterol, triglycerides and low density lipoproteins (LDL).
• It reduces the blood pressure.
• It also has the effect of reducing the sugar in diabetic persons.
• It may also prevent colon and breast cancer.
• Very often it is used as digestive aid.
• It is useful to treat sinus.
• It reduces inflammation and also fights against infection.
• It is served as a sweet tea in Egypt.
• From my personal experience I could say that it reduces also the body heat.

Lot of research has been done to find out the substances present in fenugreek. The uses are not only based on the experience but also tested and mostly found from scientific research.

Do you say that fenugreek is a very good food because of the above told reasons? The answer is a big NO. Sometimes we use the word food but the correct word is spice because such a food spice with several other active substances should not be used very leniently. We must use this as spice in very limited quantities. This I know as an idly and dosai eating human being.

We must consider several things if we use fenugreek generously. All these things are well documented in the scientific literatures. As I say always self-medication is most of the times wrong because we do not know normally what all the metabolic processes are affected in our body. Ask your family doctor and he will certainly say how to do it correctly.

What may be the problems and what cautions we should take?

Mothers or individuals taking fenugreek must be careful; the possibility that the blood sugar levels go very low is there which is dangerous. The amount of fenugreek must be controlled and in the beginning stages the blood sugar levels must be estimated. At the same time the blood pressure and cholesterol levels should also be monitored. This helps us to avoid low blood pressure and low blood sugar values, both are life threatening.

There are negative reports about asthma and the inhalation of fenugreek powder.

Fenugreek is considered as promoter of menstrual flow and it may cause breakthrough bleeding. So if you have such problems then more caution is needed with fenugreek.

About migraines and fenugreek there are controversial reports and we have to wait for the future research.

With heart diseases and problems we should not think that this will do everything, this is wrong and we need doctor’s help. It is a good support to reduce the medications.

How can sodium (salt) increase the blood pressure?

We all know that sodium is important for our health. Moreover, we eat lot of salted food and this applicable to all countries in our world.

Processed, junk and fast food also contain too much salt. Sweet food like corn flakes also contain too much of salt. It is not different from other bakery products like cakes, biscuits and others. Chips and salted nuts also contain too much of salt. Everybody in this world take 3 to 9 times more sodium than the recommended daily in take.

Sodium narrows the blood vessels, the heart must pump more and the blood pressure goes up.

Moreover, sodium can also retain more water in our body. The blood is diluted, the amount is increased and more pressure is needed to pump the blood properly. The blood pressure goes up.

Less sodium is dangerous for our health. It regulates the water balance in our body. If you stop completely it is deadly.

I am 43 years old, what is your suggestion, I have 220 mg/dl cholesterol, my doctor says to avoid egg, and I like eggs in all forms?

Healthy persons can take many eggs in a week, but if you have high cholesterol, you must reduce your cholesterol and animal fat intake, reduce milk and milk products and all animal products.

Still I recommend you to take two eggs in a week. The reasons are as follows:

Egg is a very good food with proteins, iron and other essential elements. If you completely avoid cholesterol, your body produce more in your liver.

If you make bulls-eye or omelette or scrambled eggs, do not heat the oil in the frying pan too much.

Thirdly, many of the processed foods contain eggs, e.g., noodles, cakes, bread, biscuits and much other such food including many snacks. In one way we ban them, but take much through these processed foods. Enjoy your two to three eggs in a week very happily. Women must take more eggs because of their blood loss during menstruation. That means eat eggs and avoid completely processed food and this is not a loss for your health.

Eat more dark green vegetables and a glass of red wine reduces the cholesterol level as well as the blood pressure. Take the red wine only as medicine, if you take more the possibility of addiction as well as negative effects for blood pressure and cholesterol levels are there.

Sodium's role in Human Body

Sodium is an essential element for the human body. Without sodium muscles and nerves will not function. The water and mineral balance are also maintained by sodium.

Increased sodium intake retains more fluid in the blood and the increased volume of blood needs the heart to work harder to pump the blood thus increasing the blood pressure.

Arterioles are blood vessels which dilate and constrict to regulate the blood pressure and they are contracting under the influence of sodium which increases the blood pressure.

At present it is not possible to find out who may be sensitive to the effects of sodium. This is the reason why all are advised to limit the sodium intake. You should not stop salt completely and it is also dangerous to your health.

Diets high in potassium and calcium may help to decrease the blood pressure. All the other risk factors – obesity, too much of alcohol, smoking - must be eliminated. Physical activity is a must everyday – 30 min quick walking is enough.

The amount of daily recommended intake of sodium is 2 g to 3 g per day. If you sweat excess you must take more to replace the loss of sodium.

Little sodium is found in nuts, grains, fruits, vegetables and in meats. Much is used in cooking or as table salt. It is also present in our pickles, chips and all the salted fish and snacks. In the food processing the industry is also using many sodium salts as preserving and flavour enhancing agents and moreover used as additives. So unknowingly we may take three to nine times more sodium than we need.

If you eat the unprocessed fresh food or food cooked by you then everything is under control. You must be very critical with processed food as well as commercial chips and other snacks. Never use too much of the table salt.

We should not avoid sodium completely and if you do so it is dangerous for your life.

Beer

500 ml per day, three to four times a week is good for health for men and up to 300 ml now and then for women is good for health. This is amount of alcohol helps to reduce your blood pressure. If you take more the blood vessels become narrow, heart has to pump hard and the blood pressure increases.

The nutrients in 100 g beer include:

• Water – 90.6 g
• Alcohol - 3.5 g
• Protein – 0.5 g
• Fat – nil
• Carbohydrates – 2.9 g
• Organic acids – Malic acid 6 mg, lactic acid 3 mg, oxalic acid 2 mg
• Fibre – nil
• Minerals - 0.2 g – sodium 5 mg, potassium 40 mg, magnesium 9 mg, calcium 4 mg, iron 40 micro g, copper 40 micro g, zinc 20 micro g, iodide 1 micro g.
• Vitamins - vitamins B1, B2, B6, nicotine amide, pantothenic acid, biotin, folic acid – all are only in traces
• Purine – 14 mg

One gram alcohol has 9 calories. These are dead calories; not at all useful to our body.

Women you have less enzyme to metabolize alcohol. Moreover the alcohol is absorbed quickly and reaches the brain also quickly. Drink only socially, this means drink less.

The alcohol free beers could contain also up to 0.5% alcohol.

Cardiovascular diseases of Heart and Blood Vessels - High Blood Pressure

The normal blood pressure is fixed 140/90 mmHg in several countries, but the World Health Organization has fixed 160/95 mmHg and the values above these indicate high blood pressure. Blood pressure is an important marker of heart health and it keeps also the heart healthy.

Although hereditary factors are there with our genes, we must learn many things from the experience of the others. We must see the food habit of people who are not getting heart diseases. Lifestyle plays an important role, smoking, excessive drinking, stress, too much of exercises and eating too much leading to weight increase are also risk factors. Kidney abnormalities, the large blood vessel leaving the heart, tumour of the adrenal gland and narrowing of certain arteries are big risk factors. Fortunately our doctors can treat this well. The right food can play a decisive role for the health of the heart.

In my experience we could not diagnose the reasons of high blood pressure around 90% of the patients. This is essential hypertension. Here tension plays a vital role. Tensions with partner, children, office problems, debts, mobbing and other unsolved problems are the normal problems. Fortunately, although doctors do not fully understand the causes of high blood pressure they have developed both drug and non-drug treatments effectively.

We try to get a basic overview of the cardiovascular disease and the conditions which can affect your heart and blood vessels; understanding all the different, possible types of it can be very confusing if you are not from the medical field or other health care professions.

The various diseases which fall under cardiovascular disease include:

• high blood pressure
• heart attack
• stroke
• coronary artery disease
• heart failure

The disease of heart and blood vessels are serious problems and it is the number one killer of men and women worldwide.

Cardiovascular disease is used most often to describe the damage caused to your heart or blood vessels by atherosclerosis, is a disease which affects your arteries and arteries are blood vessels which carry oxygen and nutrients from your heart to the rest of the body, moreover heart must also get enough oxygen and other essential nutrients.

Healthy arteries are flexible, strong and elastic but in course of years, too much of pressure makes the artery walls thick and stiff, sometimes restricting the blood flow and this process is called arteriosclerosis or hardening of the arteries. So, atherosclerosis is the most common cause of cardiovascular disease and an unhealthy diet with lot of saturated fats, overweight, lack of physical activity, smoking and excessive alcohol are the culprits normally.

Not all the diseases are caused by atherosclerosis and this include congenital heart disease, heart infections, heart valve diseases or the disease of the heart muscle, known as cardiomyopathy.